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Isabella GRAHAM was my 3x great-grandmother and came from the county of Durham in the north of England, but ended her days at the other end of the country in Brighton, Sussex on the south coast of England.

Isabella was baptised in St. Mary’s Church, Staindrop, Durham on the 11th June 1818. She was the daughter of Joseph and Elizabeth GRAHAM of New Raby, Staindrop. She appears to have been one of eleven children, although at least three of these did survive to adulthood.

New Raby appears to have been a small settlement about a mile north-east of the main part of the village of Staindrop and about half a mile east of Raby Castle. The houses now appear to have disappeared completely and the woodland surrounding it has engulfed them. I am sure there is an interesting story behind this if I had the time to look into it.

I have no record of Isabella until the 1841 census where she is still living with her father at New Raby, Staindrop along with a six year old John GRAHAM, who doesn’t seem to be one of Isabella’s siblings so is probably a nephew. Her father is described as an agricultural labourer but Isabella herself has no occupation given. Her mother had died a couple of years earlier in 1839, and her father would die three years later in 1844.

I have been unable to trace Isabella in the 1851, so the next record I have is of her marriage to my 3x great-grandfather Thomas KINGHORN in London in 1853. They were married on the 31st July 1853 in the parish church of St. James Piccadilly in Westminster, London. This was Thomas’ third marriage but Isabella first, both were described as being of full age.

Thomas was a tailor and lived at 10 Great Windmill Street, whereas Isabella was living at 19 Great Windmill Street. Thomas’ father was Thomas KINGHORN, the mail guard about whom I have written a great deal in the past. The witnesses at the wedding were Henry MORGAN (about whom I know nothing) and Dorothy GRAHAM, who was presumably one of Isabella’s older sisters.

Together Thomas and Isabella had three children, before Thomas’ death in May 1863, all three were baptised at St. Jame’s Church where their parents had married.

Dorothy Isabella KINGHORN (born 22 Jun 1854) my 2x great-grandmother

Abraham Graham KINGHORN (born 25 March 1856)

Isabella KINGHORN (born 1 Nov 1858)

In the 1861 census Thomas and Isabella are living at 3 Golden Place (just off Golden Square) in Westminster with their three children and one of Thomas’ sons from his first marriage, also called Thomas. In 1871 the widowed Isabella (whose occupation is given as a nurse) is still at 3 Golden Place living with her son Abraham and three lodgers.

By 1881 Isabella has moved to Brighton, Sussex. She is living with her son Abraham and his wife Sarah and their three children at 79 Hanover Street, Brighton. By 1891 she has moved to join her daughter Dorothy Isabella and her husband Henry BATEMAN and their two children in nearby Preston, Sussex (on the outskirts of Brighton) at 19 Yardley Street. Her occupation is given as a retired nurse.

I don’t know the exact date or cause of Isabella’s death. Her death was registered in Brighton Registration District in Q3 1900. By this time her daughter Dorothy and her family had moved to Hurstpierpoint, Sussex but I don’t know if Isabella had remained in Brighton or whether she went with them. The fact that the death was registered in Brighton doesn’t mean that she was living there, she may have died at the hospital in Brighton. The only way to know for sure would be to get a copy of her death certificate.

I don’t know where Isabella was buried (or cremated), I am guessing it was at one of the cemeteries at Brighton, but may have been at the cemetery at Hurstpierpoint. The problem is that the Brighton cemeteries charge an arm and a leg to search their records, I am hoping one day that they will become available online for a reasonable price.